MONGOLS AT HOME 145 



in the Terelche region. He had been gone for six days 

 on a shooting trip when we came into the beautiful val- 

 ley where his yurts were pitched, but his wife welcomed 

 us with true Mongolian hospitality and a great dish of 

 cheese. Our own camp we made just within the for- 

 est, a mile away. 



For a week we hunted and trapped in the vicinity, 

 awaiting Tserin Dorchy's return. Our arrival created 

 a deal of interest among the half dozen families in the 

 neighborhood and, after each had paid a formal call, 

 they apparently agreed that we were worthy of being 

 accepted into their community. We were nomads for 

 the time, just as they are for life. We had pitched 

 our tents in the forest, as they had erected their yurts 

 in the meadow beside the river. When the biting winds 

 of winter swept the valley a few months later they 

 would move, with all their sheep and goats, to the shel- 

 ter of the hills and we would seek new hunting 

 grounds. 



Before many days we learned all the valley gossip. 

 Moreover, we furnished some ourselves for one of the 

 Chinese taxidermists became enamored of a Mongol 

 maiden. There were two of them, to be exact, and they 

 both "vamped" him persistently. The toilettes with 

 which they sought to allure him were marvels of bril- 

 liance, and one of them actually scrubbed her little face 

 and hands with a cake of my yellow, scented soap. 



Our servant's affections finally centered upon the 

 younger girl and I smiled paternally upon the wild- 

 wood romance. Every night, with a sheepish grin, 



